Breakthrough reached in Unilever pension dispute
Two out of three unions have broken the deadlock in a long-running pension dispute at Unilever by accepting what they described as a “significantly improved” offer. Members of the Unite and Usdaw unions have accepted improvements made to a career average pension scheme that had been put on the table to replace a more lucrative […]
Legal Insight: Compromise agreements
On Friday 6 April, changes to The Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Order 2012 confirmed that an employee’s lawyer could act as an independent adviser for the purposes of preparing a compromise agreement. But while this is all very well and good, what actually is a compromise agreement and why do employers use them so frequently […]
Blog: The power of trust
The bloodshed and killing in Syria goes on unabated. Yesterday the news was full of stories casting doubt on whether the peace plan will be respected and hostilities suspended. And as the deadline for the withdrawal of government troops and weaponry from population centres approaches, the government and the opposition forces continue to trade demands […]
Experts welcome two-year freeze on skilled migrant cap
Experts have welcomed the coalition government’s decision to freeze the skilled migrant cap for two years, saying that the move will give employers more “certainty” and access to the specialist talent they require. Rather than reduce the current annual limit for the number of skilled non-EU workers allowed to enter the UK, the Home Office […]
Talent Spot: Community blogger, Doug Shaw
Doug Shaw has his nine-year-old daughter to thank for coming up with the most appropriate description of his job: “I make work better,” he says. The clue to how he performs this feat is in the name of his consultancy – ‘What Goes Around’. Treat staff well and they will treat their employer and its […]
In a Nutshell: Five legal tips for easing Diamond Jubilee holiday headaches
Marks & Spencer, Edinburgh Woollen Mills and Dorchester NHS Trust have been named and shamed for refusing to give staff paid leave on both days of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend at the start of June. The TUC criticised all three organisations for requiring personnel to work on Tuesday 5 June, the final day of […]
Blog: What to do if your staff win the lottery
As recent events at a certain bus company have shown, it’s sometimes the case that when employees are winners, it’s their employer that loses – usually losing a bunch of staff! With so many staff syndicates playing the lottery, how can employers mitigate the risks of big-time winners all downing tools (or stopping their buses) […]
UK faces spring of discontent
The UK is facing a spring of discontent, with baggage handlers at Stansted airport voting to strike, doctors balloting for action in May and the police planning a protest that month too. Holidaymakers travelling through Stansted over the Easter weekend face disruption after 150 members of the GMB union voted to take industrial action over […]
Balfour Beatty warns its 12,000 staff of possible redundancies
Just as Balfour Beatty warned all of its 12,000 UK construction services staff of possible redundancies today, the OECD forecast that the UK had moved back into recession. With new infrastructure projects expected to fall sharply after the Olympic Games in London this summer, the building giant, which employ 50,000 people worldwide, said it was […]
Blog: Using transparency as a tool to rebuild employee trust
"I am sorry, but we have already identified someone for that role.” The next question was, “how could that be, the job was just posted on the Internet?” What my friend had just found out is a little dirty secret in some organizations. Sometimes when jobs are posted, and even when they are not, […]
Employers and unions spat over extent of public-private sector pay gap
Employers and unions were at odds today over official government figures showing that public sector workers are paid on average 8% more than their private sector colleagues. The spat came about after the Office of National Statistics published its latest snapshot details of UK Plc’s employment profile. Apart from telling us that the number […]
Talking Point: Do you really know how to get the best out of your older workers?
Of all the things that we aspire to during our career, being an ‘older worker’ probably isn’t one of them. Yet, as we age, this identity is thrust upon us and, with it, a range of stereotypes based on other people’s perceptions. As a 56-year old manager recently pointed out: “Suddenly all that people […]
CIPD to boost enforcement for HR code of conduct
The CIPD is attempting to boost the professionalism of the HR industry by strengthening its code of conduct and boosting its complaints and disciplinary procedures to ensure more effective enforcement. The revised code of professional conduct, which is due to come into force for all Institute members on 1 July, was drawn up by a […]
Employers must plan now for proposed tanker driver strike, warns lawyer
Employers should start planning now for a proposed strike by fuel tanker drivers that would inevitably cause “large-scale disruption”, a lawyer has advised. More than 2,000 drivers at seven distribution depots across the UK took part in a ballot yesterday over taking industrial action for the first time in more than 10 years. According […]
Public sector jobs cull to lead to “tectonic shift” in UK labour market
More than one in seven public sector jobs will be lost as a result of coalition government budget cuts, leading to "a tectonic shift" in the nature of the UK labour market, according to the CIPD. The organisation cited the Office for Budget Responsibility‘s latest employment projections, which indicate that the public sector workforce is […]
Employers can sack older workers to cut costs, rules Appeal Court
Legal opinion is mixed as to whether a landmark court case will open the floodgates for employers to dismiss staff based on their age in order to escape large pension pay-outs – without being subject to discrimination claims. The Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that Cumbria Primary Care Trust was within its rights to make […]
Bus driver appeals sacking – for eating a grape
A bus driver has lodged an appeal against being sacked apparently for eating a grape while on duty. Michael Shephard, a 66-year-old granddad from Coventry, claims that he was dismissed by National Express after he was caught on CCTV popping the offending fruit into his mouth two weeks ago. Although he was sitting in […]
Public sector jobs cull will jump to 730,000 by 2017, forecasts OBR
A huge 20,000 more public sector workers than expected will lose their jobs over the next four years, taking the total cull to 730,000, the government’s independent forecasters revealed yesterday. In November, the Office for Budget Responsibility had forecast that the number of public servants being axed would be 310,000 higher than the 400,000 predicted […]
Blog: Lessons on dealing with the unions during times of change
Welcome to this weeks Guest Blogger – Paul Myers is the HR Manager for a local transport company. He has initiated significant change in his organisation and has managed to keep his staff on board. He is a people centric manager who has considered how to increase and harness employee engagement at every opportunity. […]
Budget 2012: Fears over lack of prep time for Olympics Sunday working plans
With the Olympic and Paralympic Games only just over three months away, plans to suspend Sunday trading laws over the eight weekends of the events have sparked concern over the lack of time that employers have to prepare. In his Budget today, Chancellor George Osborne proposed emergency legislation to enable large shops in England and […]